Century's worth of difference in saving wildlife

September 1, 2014 8:34 AM

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How can we visualize the number five billion, especially when it comes to thinking about a wildlife species?

Worldwide, it's hard to find a species, outside the insect world, with a population equivalent to five billion. But during the Civil War, there were that many passenger pigeons in the skies, making it the most abundant bird in North America. And yet, by 1914, the bird was gone forever.